Kelleher will now oversee that business, too — a
huge new role, as wealth management is a key division
for the company.

Kelleher and Fleming had been seen as potential successors
to CEO James Gorman.

In a memo to employees on Wednesday, Gorman wrote: "I
am delighted to announce that Colm Kelleher has been named
President of Morgan Stanley. Greg Fleming has decided to leave
the Firm to pursue other opportunities."

Kelleher is nothing if not a survivor. He has stayed on at
the bank through a number of tough years and navigated a series
of changes in the bank's senior ranks.

A survivor

Kelleher, 58, joined Morgan Stanley in
1989 and spent 15 years in the fixed-income division, a business
the bank is now de-emphasizing. He then led the global-capital
markets business before serving as CFO and cohead of corporate
strategy during the difficult period of the financial
crisis.

Of note, he is one year older than CEO Gorman.

"For the last five years, he has led our ISG business,
navigating challenging markets and adapting to a new regulatory
environment while maintaining our world class equities and
banking franchises," Gorman said in the memo.

During that period, Kelleher won out in
a battle of wills with dealmaker Paul Taubman in
2012. Kelleher and Taubman had been the top two
executives in trading and banking, but had a rocky relationship.
In the end, Kelleher was promoted
and Taubman was left to launch
his own advisory firm.

With the latest promotion, Kelleher has been handed even
more power at the bank.

"I very much look forward to working with Colm as my partner in
leading the Firm over the next several years," Gorman wrote in
the memo on Wednesday.